Strawberry Banana Protein Muffin!

So while on the oh so addicting site of Pinterest I came across banana muffins (click here,) but they weren't your ordinary muffins. They were made with oats, and greek yogurt! I decided to make them, and they were a hit! After making them a couple of times I decided to get a little creative. I had a request for protein muffins. I thought to myself well, I only have strawberry protein powder on hand... DUH how about strawberry banana protein muffins!!!? The best part? There's no added sugar in my recipe! So, without further adieu I give you the healthiest, nutrient packed muffin recipe.

Makes 6 muffins (can easily be doubled)

1 1/4 c. old fashion oats--not the quick, or instant kind
1 c. greek strawberry yogurt
1 egg
1 banana
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 scoop strawberry protein powder

Preheat your hot, flaming, burning box to 400 degree F.
You're gonna blend all of the ingredients, at the same time, in a blender. If you have an old blender like I do, make sure you put the wet ingredients on bottom so that it doesn't get all clogged with the oats! Pour the mix into the muffin tin halfway.
Cook for about 15-20 min. They might not get golden brown, so don't be discouraged. Do the good 'ol toothpick test about 15 min. into baking!

That's all it takes, folks!! Easy, healthy, packed with protein snack!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes!

Remember those times in elementary school when you would trade your lunch for a PB&J? Well this is gonna take you back to those days!

This past week, I went on vacation to Blue Ridge, GA. We went to the cupcake shop that won Cupcake Wars one episode. What did they win with? PB&J cupcakes! So I decided to try it on my own. It ended up being a super easy, but divine recipe!

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Cupcake Batter:

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract (could probably use almond extract)
1/3 c. milk
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. jelly (flavor is your choice!)

Jelly Frosting:

2/3 c. jelly
2/3 c. confectioner's sugar
Pinch of salt

We're gonna cook these puppies at 350 degrees F, so go ahead and turn your oven on to preheat.
First, cream room temperature butter and peanut butter until all lumps are gone. Next, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs and beat until creamy. Add the baking powder, and mix through. Add your flour 1/2 c. at a time. After you've added 1 c. add all of your milk then the last bit of flour.
Now for the assembly! Pour batter about 1/4-1/2 in the muffin tins. This should use about half of your batter.

Then you're going to put some jelly smack dab on top of your batter. I had a squirt bottle of jelly with a rectangle opening, so it worked out good!

Pour the rest of your batter evenly on top of the jelly. You want to cover up the jelly as much as possible; otherwise, it'll cook fast in the oven and become like a sticky candy. But not a good kind!

Cook at 350 degrees F for about 15-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top! 

While the cupcakes are cooking, take your confectioner's sugar, salt and jelly and whisk together until it's all mixed together and you get a nice bright color. Once the cupcakes are done, and cooled, top of with some of the jelly frosting and peanuts (I used almonds... It was all I had, ok!?)

And voila, people will wonder when you became such a master chef!